Ten Years
by MarquetteFan33
Summary: After ten years of GLaDOS's torture, Wheatley finally gets his chance to apologize to the person who means the most.  Later Human!Wheatley/Chell.
1. Prologue

Ten Years: Prologue

Summary: After ten years of GLaDOS's torture, Wheatley finally gets his chance to apologize to the person who means the most. Human!Wheatley/Chell.

AN: New story time! This idea's been floating in my head for a while, so it's about time I finally post the beginning. It's very minorly AU, but the only part that deviates from established canon is in this chapter. I really hope you like it, since it's the first multichapter story I've done in years. Let me know what you thought, and stay tuned for the next chapter!

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><p>"I can pull myself back in! I can still fix this!" Wheatley yelled. Before he could say anything more, a second consciousness invaded the mainframe, immediately kicking him out.<p>

"I already fixed it. And you are _not_ in control any longer!" Replied GLaDOS's mechanical-toned voice.

"No no no no no no no! Change of plans! Hold on to me, tighter! Grab me grab me grab me grab me—" Wheatley called out to Chell before they both were pulled back through the lunar portal. As they both plopped on the ground, he noticed Chell's eyes starting to close.

"Chell? No, no… don't close your eyes, you really should stay awake and thanks for saving me and bringing me back to Earth, that was really nice, but _please _stay awake since I really don't want to face _Her…" _He rambled just as he watched her form go limp.

"…alone."

Suddenly, Her smug tone invaded his microphone sensors. "Well, look what we have here. The blimp dragged the moron back in. How wonderful."

"I am _not_ a moron! For the last bloody time!" He retorted. "But I really need to know: is she going to be all right? She really doesn't look to good, and—"

"She's only unconscious due to the lack of oxygen in space." Wheatley's optic plates expanded, showcasing a surprised reaction. "Yes, she's still alive, halfwit, you don't have to be _that_ surprised."

"That's great, really. Really great. When do you think she'll wake up? I really need to talk to her and I can't do that if she's like this…"

"Just hold on, metal ball. Do you really think your recent actions are going unpunished? Do you expect me to let you wait until she wakes up so you can _try_ apologizing, and then send you on your way?"

"Um… perhaps?"

Her "face" moved closer to him. "Well, you'd be _very_ wrong. I've already contemplated a proper punishment for your actions, and as you may have put it, you'll be _dying_ to know."

"T-That's great and all, but I'd really prefer not to find out what your plans are, so if you could just put me back on my rail, um… Science can continue as usual?" He said as he attempted some sort of a smile toward the insanely powerful computer looming overhead. Out of the ceiling, a mechanical claw descended on a cable, grabbing his metallic hull. "No, no, no… pl-please put me down, I swear I'll behave, you won't have to worry about me again, nope, so—"

The door to the incinerator opened.

"It's been fun, moron. I'll pick you up in a year, just so we can try something else. After all, too much of one thing can be unfavorable."

"I AM NOT A MORO—" Wheatley yelled before the claw dropped him into the raging inferno.

GLaDOS turned back toward the unconscious woman lying on the floor. She knew Caroline still clung to her brain, preventing her from killing this whale of a test subject. She sighed, knowing the only thing she could do at that moment was wait for her to awaken.

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><p>Chell's vision began to return. It remained fuzzy for a moment, before finally clearing. She felt stiff, and her head hit her with an intense headache as she started to sit up. What happened?<p>

She looked around. The chamber was completely rebuilt after Wheatley destroyed the entire thing, with brand new panels coating the walls. Two robots stood in front of her. The first was shorter, looking like a personality core attached to a set of mechanical arms and legs, its blue optic glowing in confusion and shock. The taller robot resembled a modified turret with the same arms and legs as the blue one, but this one's eye was orange. And dangling from the ceiling was GLaDOS, newly reinstalled in her own body. Frantically, she looked at the floor around her, realizing Wheatley was gone. Where was he? She saved him, didn't she?

"Oh, thank God, you're all right." _What?_

"You know, being Caroline taught me a valuable lesson: I thought you were my greatest enemy, but all along, you were my best friend. That surge of emotion that shot through me when I saved your life taught me an even more valuable lesson: where Caroline lives in my brain."

"_Caroline Deleted."_ Came the male robotic voice she'd heard in previous areas of the facility. Chell felt a chill through her spine. That couldn't be a good sign…

"Good bye, Caroline. You know, deleting Caroline just now taught me a valuable lesson: the best solution to a problem is _usually_ the easiest one. And I'll be honest: killing _you_ is hard." _Good._

"You know what my days used to be like? I just tested; nobody murdered me, or put me into a potato, or fed me to birds. I had a pretty good life… and then _you_ showed up, you dangerous mute lunatic." GLaDOS annunciated each of the last three words, her head moving closer to Chell's face with each. She held firm and strong, determined to not allow the homicidal computer any sense of satisfaction.

"You know what? You win. Just go." _Wh-what?_ She couldn't hide some of her surprise as the lift began taking her up. Could it really be that simple?

"It's been fun. _Don't_ come back."

Chell watched as the elevator brought her further up, closer to the surface and the salvation she desired for so long.


	2. The Inferno of Wheat

Ten Years

Chapter 1: The Inferno of Wheat

Summary: After ten years of GLaDOS's torture, Wheatley finally gets his chance to apologize to the person who means the most. Later Human!Wheatley/Chell.

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><p>Chell looked up. The fluffy white clouds, resembling shapes of kittens and sharks, floated above her head slowly across the beautiful blue sky. The image put her mind at complete ease. No longer would she need to dodge turret fire, energy pellets, thermal discouragement beams, and the menacing intentions of any homicidal artificial intelligence units.<p>

Out of the frying pan, but not straight into the fire… yet.

Viewing the horizon, she noted her location in an incredibly expansive wheat field. The grain coated the edges of her vision in every direction, telling her that the field expanded for miles in each direction. Turning completely around, nothing but wheat existed except for the rusted shed she'd been tossed out of. Pushing away the memories of the facility that still rested beneath her feet, she kneeled next to the charred Weighted Companion Cube by her side. _This really was the only thing from that place that_ didn't _try to kill me,_ she thought to herself, placing her right hand on its cool surface. Moving her other hand to the cube's bottom corner, she picked it up and began walking.

She eventually had to stumble across some aspect of civilization, didn't she?

Within minutes of beginning her trek across the field, she began contemplating her situation. Here she was, emerged from the depths of Aperture Laboratories, a place with zero members of the human race remaining (according to Wheatley), and thrust into a world she knew nearly nothing about.

_What is civilization like, anyway?_ She internally asked. Her memories were faded, disjointed, and minimal as it was. The last thing she remembered from before GLaDOS's rude awakening was a blurred image of her (Father? Parent? Guardian?) showing her around wherever he worked. Had that insane computer wiped her memory, eliminating any traces of her life before Aperture so she'd remain compliant? Had She kept her as a testing prisoner since she was a young girl? Was that image even a memory, or just something her mind created so she'd think she even _had_ a previous life?

She sighed, contemplating the increasingly-grim possibilities. Regardless of any farfetched ideas her mind created, she knew she'd been stuck in that facility for a really long time, but she didn't even know how long. The robotic voice upon her awakening told her she'd slept for 999999—whatever that meant. Seconds? Minutes? …Years? At that thought, she shook her head to clear the idea. Somehow, she just had to hope some part of that idea was false. It _needed_ to be.

While musing further possibilities a few days later, her boot collided with something on the ground. Carefully putting her Weighted Companion Cube onto the ground, she picked up the other object. The object shone in the decreasing sunlight, reflecting the sun's rays back into her eyes. Circular, with some sort of swirled design on it. Upon closer inspection, carefully-placed holes dotted its surface in a circular pattern, indicating some sort of way of attaching it to something else.

Suddenly the object's name came to her: a hubcap. Seeing something in that field that wasn't wheat caught her attention, as she contemplated what it could mean for her, if anything.

The hubcap appeared quite new, since no rust showed itself on the metal. Gears began to turn in Chell's head. If the hubcap looked shiny and new without rust, and if she stood in a wheat field, well-maintained… and wheat is a crop humans use for food…

She wasn't alone. She _couldn't _be alone, and the evidence she found showed that fact to her, clear as day, or at least as clear as it needed to be for her.

Civilization couldn't be dead. People still were alive on the planet, not too far from her location if that hubcap told her anything at all.

People _existed._

Chell couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face at the thought of other people around. It'd been too long since she'd even _seen_ another person, let alone talk to. The thought of talking to a human being rather than hiding her words from any maniacal artificial intelligence units put that extra skip in her step as she progressed further towards what she hoped was the end of the field, holding her Companion Cube carefully in both arms.

She saw something in the distance that wasn't wheat, and was determined to find out exactly what lay at the edge of her vision.

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><p>Wheatley kept yelling from the pain he experienced in the depths of the incinerator. What else could he do? Some sadistic moron programmed him to feel pain. Very real-feeling, probably simulated, pain.<p>

What did he care at that point? It bloody hurt!

Words began flashing across his vision, just as they had once before:

Beginning emergency shutdown in 5.

_Oh, so _now _that begins. Bloody fantastic._

4.

_She's going to wake me up again, isn't she?_

3.

_She did that to me once already. How long will I be out for this time?_

2.

…_She's probably really enjoying this, probably getting off on this whole torture idea…_

1.

_No! Can't… stay… awake… _

Shutdown initiated.

_I really hope Chell got out..._

Wheatley passed out from the sensations of pure burning pain that ravaged his mostly heat-proof components.

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><p>AN: That's chapter one for ya! Poor Wheatley! Stuff's gonna start taking off soon, but the first few shorter posts with less dialogue need to establish a little background, first. Let me know what you thought, and stay tuned for more :)<p> 


	3. The First Signs of Civilization

Ten Years

Chapter 2: The First Signs of Civilization

Summary: After ten years of GLaDOS's torture, Wheatley finally gets his chance to apologize to the person who means the most. Later Human!Wheatley/Chell.

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><p>Chell broke into a run. Seeing <em>something<em> other than the continual wheat over the past few days kept her going toward some destination, not that she knew what it even was, of course. As she ran, carrying her Companion Cube in her arms, she noticed the clouds in her peripheral vision beginning to darken. _I have to hope that's some form of shelter over there once that storm hits_, she thought.

The last thing she needed after receiving her freedom was to turn into a lightning rod.

She tried running faster, if at all possible, working toward her now-larger destination at the horizon. Looking to her right, watching the storm start rolling closer—_was that a flash of lightning?_—she knew whatever existed had to be more friendly than _that._

Drawing closer, she noted more than just one object at the end of the wheat, but several. _What exactly is over that hill?_

Just seconds later, although to Chell, it felt like hours due to impatience, she crested the top of the hill. A small city displayed itself right in front of her eyes. A bunch of wooden-constructed houses made up the forefront, while the background contained some larger buildings—not too large to not see what lay behind them—and trees finished out the rest of the picture. Large pine trees, sturdy oak trees, and wispy birches dotted throughout the city. Spurred on by her excitement, she ran down the hill, nearly dropping her Companion Cube as she entered the outskirts of the new city.

Coming closer, she observed more detail. Dark grey paved roads snaked in-between the painted wood houses, green grass rustling in the light southwestern wind blowing through the city… and a sign. The green metal sign read "Marquette, Population 21,474."

Something seemed wrong as she took the first steps onto the pavement. Not a soul around. Boarded up windows. No pedestrians walking around. No cars on the street, despite the sun indicating a mid-afternoon time. _Could a city this large be deserted?_ Chell felt an increasingly sinking feeling at her situation. After days, the only town she'd stumbled across didn't have any people around to help. She _had_ to use some part of the city as shelter from the incoming storm, so she continued her trek until she hid under the extended porch of a grocery store.

Just five minutes later, the rain started.

So she sat there, using her Companion Cube as a stool, watching the rain fall from the sky. _Now what,_ she thought. _I'm here in this deserted city, hungry and cold, with no shelter. No human contact whatsoever._ Just as suddenly as the depressing thoughts came to her, an idea came as well: she'd wait for the rain to disappear before searching this city from top to bottom for supplies, shelter, and hopefully some other people. She still had to keep some hope, right?

At least she still wasn't at Aperture dodging turret fire. _Take your blessings when they come,_ she thought.

Looking to the right, she spotted a stack of newspapers. Eager to find out _some_ information, she grabbed one and held it up to her face. "Detroit Free Press," it read at the top. Date: October 8, 2260.

Chell felt her face pale. She'd been in stasis for two-hundred-something years? _Two-hundred?_ Could this just be a bad dream… a really bad one?

While sitting there thinking, she heard a loud sound booming across the city—a siren of some kind. _What does that mean… a tornado? That's definitely one way this situation can get worse._ After the siren blared for just a matter of seconds, she saw a car moving toward her location… wait—a car?

People?

Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt as the driver's door opened, allowing someone to get out, running through the rain to Chell's location. The woman had brown curly graying hair, appearing to be in her late forties.

"What are you doing there? Didn't you hear the siren?" The woman yelled just as she approached.

"Y-yes…" Chell croaked. Her mostly-unused voice didn't take too well to suddenly needing to talk to someone who wasn't artificial.

"Didn't you read the paper? It's right there in your hand! The attacks are starting—those jets could be in the area!"

"J-jets? What's going on?" Chell asked. She was completely shocked. Attacks? On whom? From whom? She _needed_ to know. Here she was, completely out of her element after sleeping for over two hundred years, being told about some attacks?

"How could you _not_ know? Just come with me to the basement shelter. I'll explain everything there." The woman grabbed Chell's hand and started dragging her to the basement. She barely had enough time to grab the Companion Cube before heading over to the door the strange woman opened.

_I guess here's the "straight into the fire" part._

She walked down the stairs, hearing them creak each time her boots hit them. After making her way down the stairs, Chell looked around the drab concrete room. Metal beams supported the ceiling, while some wood shelves kept a supply of canned foods. Curiously, she looked over at the selection: the first can kept lima beans, the second contained black eyed peas, and the third kept sliced carrots. A good supply of vegetables, but don't people need more than just that to survive?

"I'm not sure what kind of rock you crawled out from to not know about anything that's going on." The woman now turned to Chell, scrutinizing her appearance. "Not sure what 'Aperture' is either, but I'm guessing it's where you came from." Chell could only manage a nod, confirming her idea. The woman sighed. "The name's Gloria. Gloria Hartman. And yours?"

"Ch-Chell." Why wasn't her voice working right yet? It still sounded gravelly and hoarse, but it functioned.

"Good to meet you, Chell. I own this grocery store, so I can guarantee you're safe here."

"What's going on? What attacks?" Chell couldn't keep herself from asking. All she wanted were answers, and this Gloria woman knew much more than she did. Gloria looked back at her with a faint smile before sitting down on an old park bench before replying.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm getting to that. Plain and simple, the entire world's at war. From what I'm aware, nothing's been right for over two hundred years since those aliens invaded this planet and left, but world war broke out not long afterward. All governments are trying to regain what they lost back then. Land, money, resources, everything. Outside of this store, everything is complete chaos."

_Plain and simple?_ Chell thought. _How is this 'plain and simple?'_

"To make things worse, the Chinese aren't thrilled with the U.S. right now, so they've been bombing areas of the nation that provide resources to the States' military. Unfortunately, this area's known for mining, so we're a prime target. Does that answer your questions?"

"Um… only for now." Chell replied.

"That's fine. Anyway, for now, feel free to eat—you look famished. No sense worrying about anything until you regain some of your strength. Skin an' bones never did anything for anybody."

At that moment, Chell accepted the food, just happy to have found some human companionship after all this time amongst murderous and insane artificial intelligence units at Aperture.

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><p>AN: There's Chapter Two! Things will start taking off from here, so stay tuned :) Using Marquette, Michigan is nothing but a coincidence, since canon establishes Aperture to be located in Michigan's U.P., and Marquette is the largest city there. Never been to that city, but I've been to the U.P. several times before. Once again, let me know what you thought!<p> 


	4. The Backup Problem

Ten Years

Chapter 3: The Backup Problem

Summary: After ten years of GLaDOS's torture, Wheatley finally gets his chance to apologize to the person who means the most. Later Human!Wheatley/Chell.

AN: Ugh, sorry about the severe delay! Working 2:30pm-12:30am several consecutive days kills the motivation. I am _not _abandoning this story, I just finally have time! Hope you enjoy!

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><p>Wheatley came to in a daze. Again. Looking around, he didn't even see anything of importance. All he knew is he'd powered back on, but not in any noticeable pain. What now?<p>

"Oh, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Echoed a voice throughout the room. _Her_ voice. Wheatley shuddered within his hull momentarily. That certainly was the last thing he wanted to hear.

_Ugh… how long has it been?_

"Hmm. You seem to be in a dazed state. Shall I bring you up to speed?" She continued. "You've been enjoying my tortures for the past ten years. Remember? I put you in the incinerator for a year, in a cryogenic freezer the next…"

"Yes, I remember! You can stop now with all the bloody pain!" Wheatley yelled.

"Oh, so you're still alive and talking. I would have disabled your speech functions, but I think this will be far too _delightful_ to not enjoy fully."

"Of course I'm still alive!" Wheatley began. "It's not like you can get rid of ol' Wheatley that easily…"

"_Yes, I can."_

"Say what now?"

"For these past ten years, I worked on a plan to permanently destroy you in the most painful way possible for what you did to me. Simply deleting your files doesn't work. See?" GLaDOS turned on one of the monitors he'd erected during his time as Aperture overlord. A black screen with basic white writing popped up, causing Wheatley to zoom his optic in to read it, and noticed his name.

"That's my name, it is! What-what are you _doing?_"

More words popped up on the screen:

"Intelligence Dampening Sphere Project: Active

Number of Backups Created: 10,333"

GLaDOS sighed. "You really have a desire for self-preservation, don't you? This massive number of backups take up far too much space, let's try and get rid of them, shall we?"

"Delete Intelligence Dampening Sphere Project backups? -Yes.

Access denied. Password required. –Tier3.

Access denied. Password required."

"It does this each time. That password _is_ the correct password as well, since I found it in the scientists' databanks. Apparently, I simply don't have the clearance to delete any part of you. You _were _attached to me at one point, and I don't think those all-too-clever scientists wanted me to override you _that_ easily." Her voice dripped with malice at those words.

"Well, that's good, right? For me, I mean, that is. That way, I can keep just being me, right?" Wheatley's optic shifted back and forth, hoping this all was true. After everything he survived, he didn't want to simply be deleted now, right?

"_Wrong, _metal ball. Guess what I _can_ do?" GLaDOS turned her attention back to the words on the monitor.

"Move Intelligence Dampening Sphere Project backups? -Yes.

Move to where? -Database 4217.

Password required. –Tier3.

Access granted. All Intelligence Dampening Sphere Project backups have been moved to location Database 4217. Have a nice day." Read the screen. GLaDOS turned the monitor back off after doing whatever she just did.

Suddenly, Wheatley felt a surge nearly overflow his circuits. It passed after just a few moments, leaving Wheatley feeling… different. Somehow fuller. "Wh-what did you just do?" Were the only words he could manage at that moment.

"You seriously can't figure _that _out? Well, I suppose someone like _you_ would be unable to figure anything out. Remember all 10,333 backups you made of your pathetic programming? I moved all of them to Database 4217: your worthless hull. In your current—and continual state—of stupidity, you didn't notice the cable I hooked up to you before switching you on." Wheatley swiveled around, finally noticing the black cord sticking out of his control panel.

"Oh, well, that can't be all too bad, can it? I'm still here, just feeling a bit different. I'm not sure how that fits into anything you're trying to do. I'm still me. Not dead, alive and just fine." Wheatley raised his lower optic shutter in some resemblance of a smile before GLaDOS quickly moved closer to him. His expression quickly faded.

"Don't worry, you'll be wishing for that very soon. I have another surprise for you."

After finishing her words, one of her mechanical claws wheeled in a white stasis pod. From his angle, Wheatley couldn't see what she placed inside for him, or even why she brought it in. Stasis pods normally contained humans, but he thought all of the humans were dead… so what gives? Suddenly, he heard a clunk come from the pod, causing the lid to peel off of the contents: _a human?_ His short blonde hair and pale skin looked unhealthy to the AI, and his arms and legs were strapped down inside the pod… he'd never seen that before…

"This human was a test subject back before that marshmallow murdered me. He simply fell into the water with no deadly persuasion, and he continually tripped on the steps, to mention only a few of his faults."

"All righty then…" Wheatley looked back and forth between the strange human and the glowing yellow light right next to him. "What exactly does _he_ have to do with _me?_ Yes, he clearly wasn't very good at testing—not many are—but why is he important if he couldn't test?"

GLaDOS's head shifted closer to the utterly confused sphere. "You'll find _that_ out very soon, moron. Have fun." Cables descended from the ceiling, strapping themselves to the back of Wheatley's hull.

"W-What are you doing! I'm not a moron! What's going on here? Why are you—" At that moment, GLaDOS shut Wheatley off, and got to work on a new method of advancing science.


End file.
